Gluten-Free Vegan Granola Bars

Homemade gluten-free vegan granola bars are easy to make and much healthier than store-bought varieties.

I’ve been experimenting over the past several months with gluten-free baking, and it’s more complicated than I anticipated. The flours are all very particular and yield quite different results. Because I’m stubborn, I keep trying to create my own recipes instead of adapting from others. There have been many failed muffin attempts. It’s very frustrating, but I do like a challenge.

One recipe that I’ve successfully adapted is my vegan granola bars. Gluten-free oats are technically the same as regular oats, but they’re processed in a gluten-free facility. These gluten-free vegan granola bars are delicious and if you’re trying to follow a gluten-free diet, they’re a great snack or breakfast option. I swapped out a lot of other ingredients in this version and added some fun extras. The figs and dates are chewy and sweet. The cacao nibs add a touch of chocolate flavor and crunch. You can easily swap out the Earth Balance for regular butter if you just want a vegetarian bar. Enjoy!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9×9 brownie pan with parchment paper (allow two sides to hang over the edges for easy removal) and lightly grease with either cooking spray or Earth Balance.

Coarsely chop the cashews, figs and dates. Keep in mind that the bars hold together better and are easier to cut when the pieces are smaller.

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.

In a smaller bowl, combine wet ingredients except for the almond butter.

Combine the wet ingredients into the dry along with the almond butter. Stir well to make sure everything is evenly combined.

Move the ingredients into the greased pan. Use plastic wrap to very firmly press the mixture down evenly so that it’s in the corners and flat on top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes. Look for browning around the edges.

After removing from the oven, allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes on a cooling rack, then finish cooling in the refrigerator until chilled.

Use a knife or bench scraper to make 8 rectangle or 9 square bars. Wrap individually and chill.

Notes

One of the things I really love about this recipe is that it's very customizable. If you're not gluten free and vegan, feel free to use regular oats, all purpose flour, butter, etc. You can also swap out the cashews and dates with and equal amount of your favorite nuts and dried fruit. Enjoy!

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Those look really yummy. We’ll have to try them! I’m by no measure a g-free expert, but I’ve noticed that the consistancy of gluten free baked goods are better if the dough is really wet: yeast bread dough that looks like sweet bread batter, for example. It makes it easy for us to keep our carb addiction going while eating gluten-free.

These look so pretty in your photo (nothing new there!) and from the list of ingredients sound really wonderful! I’m pinning this and have people I want to personally share it with! Thanks J! (If you promise not to be offended, I plan on replacing the Earth Balance with coconut oil.) :)

Equal swap, coconut oil for butter. I’ve taken to using it in several cookie recipes (either the unrefined virgin oil which tastes of delicious coconut, or the refined which is neutral) and love the results. :)

Would you happen to know the nutrtional content for your bar? I put the ingredients in a calculator (as accurately as the choices would allow) and it came out to 600 cal per bar! Could this be possible? I’m looking for a pre-running gluten free bar but 600 cal would be too much.

I never advertised them as low calorie ;) These are full of high calorie ingredients and like many granola bars, are essentially a cookie. If you’re worried about calories, try replacing the sugar with some Stevia (I think other artificial sweeteners are poison). Leave out some or all of the dried fruit and nuts because they’re also very caloric. Or the cacao nibs/sunflower seeds. You can try to find a replacement for the almond butter, which works here as a binder. I can’t promise these changes will taste anywhere near as good.

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